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A good sport

Now in her 22nd year as the head coach of Western University’s track and field team, Vickie Croley has spent a lifetime breaking down barriers in the male-dominated world of elite athletics.

Western’s first female head coach of a men’s team not only has the distinction of being one of the few women working at the top levels of track and field, she is one of even fewer women that coach elite male athletes.

During her time at Western, Croley’s teams have won two national titles and three provincial titles. She has served as a national team coach and has coached some of Canada’s top athletes, including Olympic bronze medalist Damian Warner and Catherine Bond-Mills, who represented Canada in the heptathlon at the Olympic Games in Barcelona (1992) and Atlanta (1996).

This year, Croley can add another award to her collection when she is recognized as a 2017 Woman of Excellence in the category of Sports, Fitness, and Recreation.

During her own track and field career, Croley successfully competed in the hurdles, long jump, and relays. And if it were not for a few twists of fate and the encouragement of her own female mentor, she might never have entered the coaching profession.

“I was on the track and field team at McMaster University,” Croley recalls. “I had an injury in my fourth year and my coach, Sue Wise, asked if I would be interested coaching the hurdles.”

At the time, Croley wasn’t sure whether she should pursue her original goal — becoming a high school phys. ed. teacher — or begin a career in coaching instead. It seemed the decision was made for her when she applied to Western University’s masters in coaching program only to find out her would-be advisor, Bob Vigars, was on sabbatical and the program was not available.

Croley accepted a teaching position at a private high school in Hamilton and coached at the Hamilton Olympic Club and McMaster University on the side. A year later, Sue Wise – now the head coach at York University – asked Croley to fill in while she was on maternity leave.

“I think things happen for a reason,” Croley says. “I enjoyed teaching, but to be able to coach in the sport that you are most passionate about is an incredible opportunity and privilege.”

Croley’s career brought her to London in 1993, when she became the head coach of the women’s track and field team at Western.

Finding the right balance between family life and the demands of training elite athletes hasn’t always been easy.

“I have been very fortunate to have a supportive spouse,” says Croley. But there was a time after the birth of her second child in 1997 that she decided to take a step back from national team appointments.

Despite the challenges, Croley would like to see more women entering the field.

“It bothers me that there aren’t more female coaches out there,” she says. “Half our athletes are female, so there should be just as large a pool of female coaches as male coaches.”

She hopes being recognized as a 2017 Woman of Excellence will encourage others to turn their passion for sport into a coaching career.

“Part of my role is to show young women that you can have a career in coaching. You can have a family. You just have to find the balance,” she says.

The YMCA of Western Ontario Women in Excellence Gala is hosted every two years to honour eight community leaders. All proceeds from the event support the YMCA Strong Kids Program, ensuring everyone has access to YMCA programs and services regardless of their ability to pay.